


He Says He Loves Me

by Adventures_in_Writing



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Abuse, Chucker - Freeform, M/M, one-sided chucker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-20
Updated: 2015-09-20
Packaged: 2018-04-22 12:14:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4834946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adventures_in_Writing/pseuds/Adventures_in_Writing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was small things that had started to make Church worry.</p>
            </blockquote>





	He Says He Loves Me

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt received on [ my Tumblr](http://an-adventure-in-writing.tumblr.com/): Prompt: modern au, Church and Tucker are room mates/house mates, tucker is dating this one guy who seems fine. But tucker comes home with a black eye once and it keeps getting worse until church freaks out on him and helps tucker.

* * *

It was a well-known fact that Leonard Church as an asshole. Ask anyone who knows him and that’s how they’d describe the tall, somewhat scrawny man with a scruffy black goatee.

It was much lesser known that he actually cared about those mutual assholes he was lucky enough to call friends. To be honest, he preferred it that way. If you were an ass people were less likely to use you. It was probably a good thing that Doc, Donut and Caboose surrounded themselves with jackasses who actually looked out for them.

Tucker had been dating this new guy for around three months. No-one had heard of him until they’d started going out and Tucker was absolutely smitten. He seemed nice enough on the few occasions Church had actually met the guy but after the first couple of weeks, no one had seen much of him. He was always busy when they tried to organise anything and recently if he didn’t go, Tucker didn’t go which was all kinds of weird because Tucker was never the kind of guy to get seriously attached to someone so easy.

Tucker was the kind of guy who’d slowly get attached to you and only realise when it was too late. Church knew that all too well.

It was small things that had started to make Church worry. A black eye here, a bruised collarbone there, wearing long-sleeved jackets in the middle of summer; things that would usually easily be missed until they started happening more frequently. There were only so many times “I fell down” or “work accident” worked as an excuse particularly when Tucker wasn’t all that clumsy to begin with. Naturally, Church started to assume the worst. Church had tried to bring it up with Tucker a few times before but Tucker had become extremely defensive whenever the topic was brought up.

“You don’t fucking know anything!”

“Tucker, I’m _worried_ about you.”

“Drop it. Things are fine.”

“Tucker, this is serious.”

“So am I.”

How do you even start that kind of conversation when you get shot down every time you try? When bringing it up means you risk losing one of the friendships you value most? How do you make the other person see when they refuse to look?

Church didn’t know.

*****

Church woke up with a start. He heard the front door close followed by heatedly whispered swearing.

He quickly jumped of bed and made his way out into the living space, his heart racing as he wondered just what it was he would see. “Tucker? What the fuck?”

This was serious. It wasn’t something that Tucker could easily hide. His lip was split and swollen, he was putting all of his weight on one leg as he leaned heavily against the wall, an arm wrapped protectively around his chest.

“Hey…” his voice, usually full of vigor, was flat. The smile that he usually had was gone and the light in his eyes wasn’t there.

Church stood there, his eyes wide as he stared at Tucker in disbelief.

“What happened?” his voice cracked as he asked. He wanted Tucker to tell him. He needed Tucker to tell him. Church took a couple of steps closer to Tucker, wanting to go over to him to help, but unsure if Tucker would allow it.

A hiss escaped him as he slid down the wall to the floor, wincing in pain as he sat.

“You know what happened.”

“Tucker…” Church still hesitated. “You need to tell someone.”

“I can’t…y’know?” The way Tucker looked up at Church, his expression filled with anguish, made his heart twist in his chest. He quickly crossed the living room to join Tucker on the floor, kneeling beside his friend pulling his head to his chest. He didn’t miss the way Tucker winced and sucked in a breath as Church moved him. “They wouldn’t believe me anyway. Guys don’t…”

“You have to.”

“I love him and…and I know it doesn’t look like it, but he loves me too. He says so,” Tucker pressed his lips together to stop himself from crying.

Gently Church brought a hand to Tucker’s cheek, being mindful of his split lip and any potential bruising of his jaw.

“Tucker, people who are in love don’t do this.”

Tucker didn’t look away from Church as the tears started to fall. “But he says so, Church.”

“I know…”

“He says so,” Tucker whispered, his voice breaking as a sob escaped him. He winced in pain as he cried, clutching on to Church tightly.

He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know what to say. So he stayed there, beside Tucker, letting his best friend hold on to him as tightly as his bruised body could until the sobs quietened and Tucker’s grip loosened.

“Please,” Church whispered. “Let me help you. We’ll call an ambulance and then…then we’ll go talk to someone. You don’t need to do this alone any more. You never needed to do it alone in the first place. I was right there for you, the whole time. I would have listened. Please Tucker, I’m begging you. Let me help.”

As Tucker nodded, a tiny movement that Church wasn’t entirely certain he felt, he dropped his head to rest on Tucker’s.

“Thank you.”


End file.
